Book Review: Colorful Tales: The Memoirs of Buz the Bear
By Don Hansen, Illustrated by Rebekah Madonia*

Colorful Tales: The Memoirs of Buz the Bear is a delightful picture book that introduces young readers to valuable life lessons through the adventures of Buz, a lovable bear cub. Don Hansen weaves themes of love, acceptance, joy, humility, and courage into simple yet profound stories that resonate with children and adults alike. Each chapter opens with a scriptural passage, providing a natural starting point for discussions on fundamental values, such as relationships with family, friends, strangers, nature, and a higher power.

The book's strength lies in its ability to present these life lessons in an easy-to-read, relatable way. Buz’s adventures are charming, fable-like tales that are easy to follow, making them perfect for children aged 4 to 8. The gentle storytelling is complemented by Rebekah Madonia's delightful illustrations, which bring Buz’s world to life with warmth and whimsy.

Colorful Tales is ideal for family story time, offering opportunities for deeper conversations based on each chapter’s Biblical reference. The straightforward text and simple illustrations allow readers to absorb the messages without feeling overwhelmed. It’s a great addition to any childhood reading collection, especially for families seeking to explore life lessons from a faith-based perspective.

Would I recommend this book? Absolutely. Colorful Tales: The Memoirs of Buz the Bear is a heartfelt, meaningful read that encourages children to explore the world around them with curiosity and kindness. Purchase your copy on [Amazon](https://amzn.to/3XxOhvn).

I grabbed this book off of NetGalley because I love children's books about bears, but unfortunately the description said nothing about the religious tie-in, so the bible verses were a surprise for this non-religious reader. Next, it was very wordy and long-winded and in my opinion could do with a lot of editing. If it's intended for young readers, it's much too text-heavy. The author clearly has good intentions, but is not a good writer. It was often repetitive, frequently confusing perspective between the old bear reminiscing and the point of view of the bear cub, and was riddled with punctuation and grammar errors. Lastly, I disagreed with some of the plot points (e.g. please children do not wander into woods you've never been in with a lost bear cub! That will not end well!) I will say that the illustrations were cute, though.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with this book in exchange for my review! All opinions are my own.

I Loved the illustrations in this book. They were very charming. The length of this book would be too long to keep a younger reader's attention but would be probably ok for someone in 2nd grade or so. It reminded me of the "Little Bear" books I grew up with as a kid. Even if they may not be mature enough to be able to follow the story, I think younger readers may also be entertained by the beautiful illustrations. If I had kids, I would purchase this book.

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Its a heartwarming story with cute illustration of the Buz the bear. Its a memoir about Buz with lesson to be learn. Suitable for midle grade read and young adult. Must read book for 2024.

This book combines children’s fiction with parables from the bible and is educational.

My little one enjoyed the stories and the illustrations

had so much fun reading this book, the story is so adorable and the illustrations were so well done and charming, there’s so many little details in every page that I couldn’t stop but be mesmerized by it all. I will definitely be recommending it! Thank you netgalley and the publisher for this early copy

The information about this book says it teaches kids about love, kindness, joy acceptance and all those things we want to imbibe in our kids but what set me off was Bible verses at the very start. The blurb doesn't mention anything about Bible verses. It is not necessary for kids to learn about any religion to be kind and loving to one another.

I'm not against any religious stuff in book but I would very much want to be aware of what I'm going to find in the book. I for one, is of opinion that kids should learn their faith in their own time and definitely not from a tender age of 2-3 years.

The illustrations are good but with those Bible verses I just couldn't read the book at all. No not at all for me or for my kid.

Colorful Tales by Don Hansen is a heartwarming collection that shares important life lessons through the charming adventures of Buz the Bear. Buz, a special bear cub, teaches us about love, understanding, curiosity, humility, happiness, and bravery by showing us the ups and downs of a bear's daily life in a captivating and relatable way. Hansen's storytelling gently invites young readers to experience the world from Buz's perspective, helping them discover meaning and excitement in their own lives. The book isn't just about having fun and going on adventures; it's about appreciating nature and understanding what it truly means to be human. Colorful Tales is a delightful and valuable read for people of all ages.

This is a book that tells the stories of Buz the bear in a series of parables, drawing on quotes and lessons from the Bible.

The storytelling seemed a little long winded, and occasionally feels repetitive, though the lessons about friendship and acceptance are very important.

The illustrations are adorable, and I found some stories cute. Buz's encounter with Tiffany, and what he learned from his attempt to capture one of the flutterbys were my favourites. So this could be a good book for Christian children, but I think the person reading might need to trim the text a little to get the best results!

This book was not quite what I was expecting. It is too long to read to my child, but I think that the sweet story and the artwork will keep older children's attention.

This is cute, if you're looking for a Christian-based book for more advanced readers. The book is split into different short chapters, each telling their own small parable through Buz the Bear's stories. It's a pretty text-centric book, but the accompening pictures are cute - especially Buz!

Colorful Tales-The Memoirs of Buz the Bear is a heartwarming collection of short stories about Buz and his adventures. There is a welcoming moral in each enchanting story as Buz grows up and learns more about the world around him. He makes mistakes, but always learns from them. Even though he doesn’t always listen to his mom, he is taught via a skunk that it is important for children to listen to their parents. The book instills kindness, compassion and empathy, and helps kids follow a moral path. This is a very delightful and refreshing book!

This book was so adorable, I loved everything about it, the illustrations were so well done, they suited the book perfectly, the story was amazing as well, even thought is very short I could really connect with the characters and feel theirs struggles.
I’m sure the kids are going to be just as enthralled with this amazing book as I was.
I will definitely recommend!

Thank you netgalley and the publisher for this early copy

Cute stories about an endearing bear named Buz and the different things he encounters in his life. He makes friends, he explores and he finds himself and his happiness. This is a book for an advanced young reader as it has several chapters. The illustrations are sweet and help readers a long with the story as they see Buz throughout the book.

This is a sweet book! If you like religious children’s stories, this is for you. It contains several shorter stories (think parables) with a life lesson at the end.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the complementary copy of this book.

I loved the illustrations. The bear is really adorable! But I couldn't appreciate the story lines. The narration felt off.

I abandoned the book just after the first chapter. Thanks too NetGalley and the publisher for the arc.

This book is for kids, but I wanted to read it. It's a small book that focuses on stories about Buz the bear, who is different from the other bears (he lives in the tundra but is a brown bear).

I think it's a good book for kids, because we see the bear making new friends, learning to be gentle and have patience, but that's it. There are books for children that are also very suitable for adults, but I didn't feel that with this book.